Manu is legendary among birders. From the highlands near Cusco,
the Manu Road snakes down almost 4000 meters to the rich tropical forests
of the Amazon basin. Nearly 1000 species of birds have been recorded
in this transect. Having lived in Bolivia for four years, organizing
a Manu trip had been on the back burner for some time. But it was
a posting last year on the BIRDCHAT listserver that finally provided the
impetus for this trip. In October 1999, Paul Champlin posted a summary
of his field work at a number of lodges in southern Peru and northern Bolivia
and called Pantiacolla the "best birding lodge" in the southwest Amazon.
In just over a month, he reported seeing over 500 species, quickly putting
it on par with the more famous Manu Wildlife Center.

Since in September 1999 I had organized a trip to Noel Kempff Mercado
National Park in northern Bolivia through the Ornifolks network of
travelling birders (www.ornifolks.com), Pantiacolla seemed like a natural
choice for a group trip since it would be difficult (and expensive) for
myself as an independent "solo birder." After every trip to
Amazonian lowlands, I always seem to wish I had "just a couple more days"
in the rainforest, thus I made the early decision to spend a good chunk
of the trip in the lowlands at Pantiacolla lodge to really do justice to
the tremendous diversity. As it was, we spent six full days at Pantiacolla
(seven nights) and roughly an equal number of days birding at higher altitudes.

Overall, it is fair to say that Pantiacolla delivered. Although
little visited by birders, Pantiacolla has a good, very well-maintained
trail network, including trails climbing up to remnant cloud forest at
1000 meters. Outstanding varzea forest, including some extensive
bamboo, is close to the lodge and proved to hold a number of range restricted
species. Key specialties seen included: Blue-headed Macaw, White-cheeked
Tody-Tyrant, Bamboo Antshrike and Manu Antbird. No one in our group
had been to Manu Wildlife Center, so comparisons are difficult to make,
but Pantiacolla certainly offers a lot to birders. Marianne (e-mail:
pantiac@terra.com.pe) at the Pantiacolla office in Cusco proved to be of
enormous help in planning for the trip. You can check out their website
at www.pantiacolla.com.

Including our guide, Bennett Hennessey, we were eight in total (Carolyn,
Marianne, Bob, Bobbie, Travis, Alfred and myself). The group could
have easily grown to 12 or 14 due to strong interest in the trip on the
Ornifolks birding network (www.ornifolks.org), but we chose to keep it
small as rainforest birding is not conducive to large groups.

Itinerary:

October 8: Cusco and the Huacarpay Lakes.
October 9: Cusco to Ajanaco pass (4000m) to Pillahuata (2500m).
October 10: Pillahuata to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge (1500m).
October 11: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge (1500m).
October 12: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge to river port of Atalaya to
Pantiacolla Lodge.
October 13-18: Pantiacolla Lodge.
October 19: Pantiacolla Lodge to Cusco.
October 20: Sacsayhuman ruins above Cusco.

Field Guides (both kinds):

We brought just about every conceivable field guide. Between the
eight of us we had:

Birds of the High Andes by Jon Fjeldsa and Niels Krabbe: Indispensable
for the humid montane forest on upper Manu Road above 2500 meters.
We brought one copy of the text and three sets of plates.

The Birds of South America Volumes 1 and 2 by Robert Ridgley
and Guy Tudor: Although heavy (we brought one copy of the text and two
sets of the plates) and limited to the passerines, we spent more time referring
to these two volumes during the evening hours than any others.

Birds of Columbia by Steve Hilty: A few of the most interesting
and puzzling birds from Manu NP do not range into Colombia and thus are
missing from this field guide. But it was otherwise a very useful
addition. We must have had at least three copies between us.
Ironic how the country with the best national field guide is virtually
off-limits to birders these days...

The Tanagers by Morton and Phyllis Isler: Excellent coverage
of the tanagers. Recently (1999) reprinted (but not revised).
A nice addition to our trip library!

A Guide to the Birds of South America by Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee:
Now 30 years old, but this grand-daddy of the South America guides still
has excellent text accounts. It was a nice luxury to have along.

South American Birds: A Photographic Guide to Identification:
by John Dunning: Can't really remember us referring to this one that often...

In retrospect, the first three entries listed above would be the most
important ones to consider for anyone planning a similar trip.

Our guide was Bennett Hennessey, a Canadian ornithologist who
lives in Bolivia and does guiding at times to supplement his income as
a full-time ornithologist. He proved to have extensive experience
with the birds of the Amazonian lowlands. Coupled with his outstanding
knowledge of bird sounds, he had a collection of "reference tapes" at his
finger tips that permitted the use of immediate playback on some of the
more difficult to see species. Indeed, on the entire trip I cannot
remember a single bird that we saw at least reasonably well or was calling/singing
that went unidentified.

Accommodations:

Cusco:

Our first two nights in Cusco we stayed at the Hotel Bellavista just
off the Avenida de Sol. Smallish rooms, but clean with a friendly
and helpful front desk and cable TV. Upon our return to Cusco on
October 19th, we stayed at the Hotel Prisma, a three-star hotel like the
Bellavista, but closer to the main plaza and perhaps a little nicer (but
no cable TV). Actually, we did not originally plan to change hotels,
but there was a large group of rowdy students at the other hotel and the
attentive hotel manager at the Bellavista thought we would be more comfortable
at their sister hotel, the Hotel Prisma. Lo que sea. The negotiated
price (in advance) at each was $35 per double including breakfast, less
than half the posted rate. I relied on the advice and help of a friend
in Cusco in identifying and booking the hotels.

Pillahuata:

Essentially a roadside clearing with a couple buildings, Pillahuata
could be considered, in the words of a real estate agent, charmingly "rustic."
Beds with mosquito nets were in two communal rooms, one for the men and
one for the women (visions of summer camp?). But, if as in the real
estate lexicon the three most important characteristics are location, location,
and location, then Pillahuata cannot be beat. Perched at 2500 meters,
there are no other options (other than camping) for birders who want to
wake up and start birding in upper montane humid forest.

Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge:

A newish lodge at 1500m on the Manu Road, just down from the famous
Manu road Cock-of-the Rock lek. Very nice, especially after
the minor hardships of Pillahuata. The rooms were a bit small, but
service and food were excellent. And from the dining room one could
relax and watch an amazing feeder filled with fresh fruit as well as
hummingbird feeders that attracted some real gems.

Pantiacolla Lodge:

As mentioned, Pantiacolla has only effectively been open to tourists
for two years. In fact, we may have been the first true "birding
group" to visit. In general, I think we all found it a very pleasant
place to stay. Service by the Pantiacolla staff was excellent and
our host Raoul was both gracious and extremely accommodating. Pantiacolla
is in a clearing with a large thatch dining room forming the heart of the
facility. Accommodation is double-occupancy in detached cabañas,
linked by paths to the main dining area. Food was simple but very
good and filling (second helpings were happily provided). The few
disadvantages including the fact that there were only two bathrooms.
Not a problem for eight birders, but when a group of 12 language students
arrived on Monday, the guest-to-bathroom ratio increased considerably.
To the credit of the Pantiacolla staff, a good job was done of keeping
the bathrooms clean and, with the differing schedules of early-to-rise
birders and students, no lines formed outside the bathrooms.
Apparently Pantiacolla has already broken ground on a new bathroom complex.
Another pet-peeve: no screens in the rooms. But mosquito nets
were provided and mosquitos were almost non-existent near the lodge.
Finally, cats are kept as pets by Pantiacolla staff, something certainly
not compatible with a eco-tourist lodge.

Health and Safety:

A medical practitioner in South America tells me that the conventional
wisdom in South America is that one in four visitors get some type of stomach
upset during their trip that causes them to curtail their activities.
Our experience provided strong support from such percentages: two members
of our group of eight came down with upset stomachs, with one person finding
the bug somewhat hard to shake and losing some birding time.

Our visit happened to coincide with an ongoing political scandal in
Peru that caused the then President to call for new elections and created
rumors of a military coup. However, despite the hyperbole on CNN,
there was really no effect on the tourist areas near Cusco and in Manu.
Peru has effectively contained or eliminated the guerrilla groups that
kept most birders away for much of the 1980s. Like hundreds of Manu
birders before us, we never felt threatened nor had safety concerns other
than taking the normal precautions against pickpockets and purse snatching
in downtown Cusco.

Weather:

This being the end of the dry season, we were very lucky with the weather.
We had a little rain near the cumbre on the Manu road on the 9th but no
birding time was lost to rain during the entire trip. Pantiacolla
was rather hot and humid, but there was cloud cover on several days that
certainly kept the birds more active. It rained during the nighttime
hours at Pantiacolla on a couple occasions, but each morning dawned clear
and cloudless. We had quite a storm on our last night at Pantiacolla
that considerably raised the water levels of the Alto Madre de Dios, making
our return upriver somewhat exciting!

Day-by Day Account:

Some of the more interesting or noteworthy birds are described in this
day-by-day account. A full list of species seen appears at the end
of this report.

October 8: Cusco and the Huacarpay Lakes

Half of our group arrived in the morning of the 8th, so after dropping
off luggage (and a short nap for some), we met at noon for an excursion
to the Huacarpay Lakes outside of Cusco. Unfortunately, our rented van
broke down a couple miles from the lakes, but we were able to quickly find
a taxi that took us to the far shore where we hoped to find the endemic
Bearded Mountaineer in the roadside tobacco plants. (Another vehicle
was sent to replace the van and arrived within an hour). We soon
got excellent looks at the BEARDED MOUNTAINEER and also added GIANT HUMMINGBIRD,
GREEN-TAILED TRAINBEARER and SPARKLING VIOLETEAR to our list of hummingbirds.
Other highlights include excellent looks at a MANY-COLORED RUSH-TYRANT
foraging on the ground in the open, a WREN-LIKE RUSHBIRD, PLUMBEOUS RAIL,
not to mention a variety of high Andean waterfowl. Dinner in
Cusco at the El Paititi restaurant with live Andean music to boot.

October 9: Cusco to Ajanaco pass to Pillahuata

The road to Manu! We left the hotel at 5 AM and transferred to
our vehicle for the next few days: a six wheel Russian-made Zil.
Formerly a troop carrier, it was imported to Peru by an oil company, and
later outfitted for tourists for travel on the sometimes rough and muddy
Manu road. The very high clearance meant that the Zil offered excellent
views from the bus-like seats (the only drawback being the effort climbing
UP into the vehicle). Since it seated 24, the eight of us and our
cook Orlando and driver Emilio were very comfortable.

Leaving Cusco and passing through heavily farmed Altiplano communities,
the first birds were SPOT-WINGED PIGEON, TORRENT TYRANNULET, BROWN-BELLIED
SWALLOW. As we approached Ajanco pass, ANDEAN FLICKER, VARIABLE HAWK,
ANDEAN LAPWING and MOUNTAIN CARACARA were seen in the sparse, arid environment
outside our windows. After breakfast in the Quechua town of Paucartambo,
we made the last climb to the cumbre at 3800 meters and then descended
down the eastern slope into humid montane forest. Our first stop,
a short hike just below the pass offered up SHINING SUNBEAM, RUFOUS-BREASTED
CHAT-TYRANT, BLACK-THROATED FLOWERPIERCER and MOUSTACHED FLOWERPIERCER.
After passing a sign noting the Manu Biosphere Reserve entrance, we stopped
and birded in the light rain and mist at 3350 meters and found a PUNA THISTLETAIL
foraging low. We made several more stops between 3000 and 2700 meters
and recorded HOODED TINAMOU (calling frequently), GRASS-GREEN TANAGER,
PLUM-CROWNED PARROT, MASKED FLOWERPIERCER, RUST-AND-YELLOW TANAGER,
CHESTNUT-BELLIED MOUNTAIN-TANAGER, CINNAMON FLYCATCHER and CITRINE WARBLER.
We heard Mountain-Toucans calling in the ravine below us, but we were unable
to lure them in with playback.

At dusk we arrived at Pillahauta and part of the group quickly located
a singing UNDULATED ANTPITTA that was seen very well perched about a meter
off the ground right below the cabin. Orlando, our cook, put together
a great meal of soup and spaghetti under rather primitive conditions.
Afterwards we walked up the road for nightbirds. We heard a SWALLOW-TAILED
NIGHTJAR but we were not lucky enough to see it. We also heard ANDEAN
PYGMY-OWL and RUFOUS-BANDED OWL.

October 10: Pillahuata to Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge

An early breakfast at Pillahauta of pancakes and then we began walking
down the Manu road from 2500 meters towards the Cock-of-the-Rock lodge
at 1500 meters. Our plan was to let Orlando and Emilio pack up the
truck and then continue downhill to pick us up in a few hours. For
many of us, this proved to be one of the favorite days of the trip: not
only did was see a host of interesting birds, but on this day the birds
seemed to never stop!

In the clearing near Pillahauta, in the early dawn light we found BLUE-CAPPED
TANAGER, BAND-TAILED PIGEON, a very close CRIMSON-MANTLED WOODPECKER and
GLOSSY-BACKED THRUSH. Walking downhill, we came across a BARRED BECARD,
WHITE-COLLARED JAY, DUSKY-GREEN OROPENDOLA and SUPERCILLATED HEMISPINGUS.
At 2400 meters, we encountered a nice slow-moving flock and were able to
follow it for the next hour. The flock included CAPPED CONEBILL,
WHITE-THROATED TYRANNULET, BLACK-CAPPED HEMISPINGUS, RUFOUS-CHESTED TANAGER,
GOLDEN-BILLED SALTATOR (somewhat of a surprise to us in humid montane forest)
and MASKED TROGON. We heard several RED-AND-WHITE ANTPITTAS calling
as we walked downhill, but despite repeated efforts at playback, we were
unable to see one. By 9 AM, we were at 2200 meters and had another
flurry of activity with MOUNTAIN CACIQUE, BROWN-CAPPED VIREO, STREAKED
TUFTEDCHEEK and BLUE-NECKED TANAGER.

By lunchtime, we arrived at the Cock-of-the-Rock lodge, our home for
the next two nights. We were immediately bowled over by the fruit
feeders that had attracted a bright male VERSICOLORED BARBET that was eating
papaya just a few feet away. GOLDEN TANAGER and ORANGE-BELLIED EUPHONIA
were also regular visitors to the feeders. At the hummingbird feeders,
the most common bird was the VIOLET-FRONTED BRILLIANT. After lunch,
we hiked uphill a few hundred meters to the Cock-of -the-Rock lek.
But before arriving, Bennett spotted a SOLITARY EAGLE circling above a
distant ridge. Unlocking the gate, we entered a roadside hide that
offered views of several males and one female ANDEAN COCK-OF-THE-ROCK at
a lek. As we strolled a little further uphill and then made our way
back down, the birds kept coming, with FAWN-BREASTED TANAGER, OLIVACEOUS
SISKIN, GOLDEN-OLIVE WOODPECKER, the somewhat rare and local LEMON-BROWN
FLYCATCHER that Alfred got in his scope, BLUE-NAPED CHLOROPHONIA, and MARBLE-FACED
BRISTLE TYRANT.

October 11: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge

After a restful night, we awoke to a foggy and wet morning. Our
plan was to take the Zil back up the Manu road a few hundred meters in
altitude and bird our way down. As we twisted and climbed back up
the road many probably hoped never to see again, Bob spotted a WHITE-CAPPED
DIPPER out the window at 1625 meters near a waterfall. We all piled
out and got some nice views. We continued climbing in the Zil up to 1800
meters (about 8 kilometers up the road from Cock-of-the-Rock lodge) where
we got out and began walking back down.

Birding was a bit slow, but as we walked down, our patience was rewarded
with WHITE-CROWNED TAPACULO (heard only), SPECKLED HUMMINGBIRD, BLUISH
FLOWERPIERCER, SLATE-THROATED and SPECTACLED WHITESTARTS (in the same foraging
flock at 1750 meters). Most of us also got good looks at WHITE-EARED
SOLITAIRE, except for Travis who only got a glimpse of the head.
(But by the end of the day, Travis had also seen, at various times, glimpses
of the underparts, legs, back of the White-eared Solitaire, so someone
pointed out that he had seen the whole bird, just not at one time!).

At 1700 meters, we came across a troupe of eight or more Woolly Monkeys
that we followed for a while along the roadside. Since the birding
was somewhat slow, we blamed the lower than apparently normal temperatures.
After enjoying some GREEN JAYS passing through, someone noticed a GOLDEN-HEADED
QUETZAL, perched on a roadside snag further back up the hill. After
distant but unsatisfying views, we slowly backtracked towards the queztal.
Every dozen meters we stopped for more views. Finally, we had approached
within 10 meters of the queztal. This quetzal simply could not be
spooked (and, diplomatically speaking, we were not a very quiet or stealthy
group). We stood on the roadside, chatting and looking at the quetzal
for 15 minutes or so From 10 meters, we could see the details
of each feather that almost seemed to form metallic amour on the breast.
Simply outstanding. In fact, a week later when we voted on the best
bird of the trip, this quetzal won hands down. Finally, we walked
away from it and headed back down hill.

The Zil was waiting for us at 1625 meters near the Manu Cloud Forest
Lodge. But before getting on and heading to lunch, we saw a pair
of TORRENT DUCKS foraging the river below, a pair of WHITE-EYED PARAKEETS,
BLACK PHOEBE on the boulders and heard a MOUSTACHED WREN.

After lunch and a brief siesta, a mid-afternoon thunder shower passed
though. When the rain stopped the balcony of the lodge was surrounded
by the sounds of a foraging flock. Most interesting was a YELLOW-BREASTED
ANTWREN. Having decided to walk downhill for the lodge for the afternoon,
we had barely left the entrance when Bennett found us a BUFF-THROATED TODY-TYRANT.
Further down we found a GOLDEN-CROWNED FLYCATCHER, but not much else new
for the trip. On the walk back to the lodge, as it was getting dark,
Marianne spotted a HIGHLAND MOTMOT perched on a boulder in a nearby stream
(certainly not their normal habitat one presumes...).

October 12: Cock-of-the-Rock Lodge-Atalaya-Pantiacolla Lodge

Pancakes with honey and hot coffee at 5:30 AM get us moving. By
mid-afternoon, we would be at Pantiacolla. But first we wanted to
take advantage of the early morning hours to visit the forest between 1200
and 1000 meters. Our first stop was at 1150 meters. We quickly
found a TWO-BANDED WARBLER, BUFF-THROATED FOLIAGE-GLEANER, PLUMBEOUS
KITE, and YELLOW-THROATED BUSH-TANAGER. Then we spotted a DOUBLE-TOOTHED
KITE perched near the roadside. Then what was presumably a male Double-Toothed
Kite flew in, perched next to the female, and offered her a tasty mammalian
morsel. Great views of the female ripping the flesh enjoying her
meal. Getting back in the Zil, we continued down the road a few more
minutes. Stopping at 1000 meters, the heat was apparent, despite
the relatively early hour. The sky was cloudless and the temperatures
would only rise. Our second stop yielded MAGPIE TANAGER, BLUE-HEADED
PARROT, more PLUMBEOUS KITES, RUFOUS-BROWED PEPPERSHRIKE, LONG-TAILED TYRANT,
SWALLOW TANAGER and, in a chance encounter, excellent views of a LANCEOLATED
MONKLET, perched about a meter off the ground in the roadside scrub.

Below 1000 meters, we found the area increasingly impacted by settlements
and agriculture.
We drove straight through, with only a stop for refrescos at Pilcopata.
Upon reaching the port town of Atalaya at mid-day, we had more refrescos
while the motorized canoe was loaded up. We said goodbye to our driver
Emilio and after a quick tour of the gorges upstream from Atalaya, we headed
down the Madre de Dios river towards Pantiacolla. Despite the mid-day heat,
we saw a variety of river birds including RED-THROATED CARACARA, OSPREY,
FASCIATED TIGER-HERON, LARGE AND YELLOW-BILLED TERNS, SWALLOW-WING, and
ZONE-TAILED HAWK on our two or three hour journey.

By mid-afternoon, we arrived at Pantiacolla Lodge. We had barely
sorted out our rooms, when a pair of BLUE-HEADED MACAW (a Manu specialty)
were spotted perched near the lodge clearing. We got excellent looks, not
knowing that we would not see them as well for the rest of the week.
We re-grouped and quickly set off for the nearby Capybara trail, the first
couple kilometers of which offer an excellent example of varzea forest
heavily influenced by bamboo. We had only gone a few hundred meters
from the trailhead, when Bennett heard an interesting call and brought
in a WHITE-CHEEKED TODY-TYRANT, an endemic and another specialty of Manu!
With green mantle, yellow-edging on the flanks, orange bill, and white
cheeks, it was a very handsome flycatcher indeed. Two Manu specialties
within hours of arrival!

After dinner, we conducted a quick, successful search for TAWNY-BELLIED
SCREECH-OWL, which we lured in to the spotlight. Late at night, a
storm passes through.

October 13: Pantiacolla Lodge

The morning dawned cool and clear. In some strange display of
national unity, all of Peru is in the same time zone. But since Manu
is much further east than the coastal population centers, birders must
get up before 5 AM to have breakfast and be on the trails by 5:30 AM (first
real light). This morning we walked the Monk Saki trail returning
via the Oropendola trail, both mostly terre firme forest with a fair number
of tree falls. Our first bird was a SPOT-BACKED ANTBIRD, with a "squeezy,
squeezy" call like one of those plastic dog toys. Other birds included:
BLACK-FACED ANTBIRD, WHITE-NECKED JACOBIN, PLAIN-WINGED ANTSHRIKE, BLUE-CROWNED
MANAKIN, WHITE-SHOULDERED ANTSHRIKE, WHITE-FLANKED ANTWREN, and BAND-TAILED
MANAKIN.

We decided to head back on the Oropendola trail and soon we encountered
a flock of oropendolas that included several CASQUED OROPENDOLA.
We enjoyed their weird, drawn out calls and then continued on down the
trail. Before we had gone 100 meters, we ran into a small canopy
flock that included PURPLE HONEYCREEPER, GREEN HONEYCREEPER, PARADISE TANAGER,
GREEN-AND-GOLD TANAGER and YELLOW-BELLIED TANAGER. Finally, as it
was close to 12:30 PM and lunchtime, we picked up the pace and headed towards
the lodge. But a high frequency call from the trail side distracts
us, and Bennett uses playback to give us nice views of a WHITE-EYED ANTWREN.

After lunch and a siesta (with those unwilling to sleep sitting on their
balcony observing hummingbirds such as LONG-BILLED STARTHROAT and FORK-TAILED
WOOD-NYMPH at the ornamental plantings), we took another walk in the afternoon,
again on the Monk Saki trail. There was not as much activity as in
the morning, but we saw RED-BILLED SCYTHEBILL (very close to the lodge),
WHITE-NECKED THRUSH, DWARF TYRANT-MANAKIN, GRAY ANTBIRD (with its "cook-ies,
cook-ies" call) and a mystery funarid (a leafscraper?) that flushed and
perched on the trunk of a large fig tree.

After updating the day's list and dinner, most of us decide to sleep.
We drift off to the sounds of COMMON POTOO and GREAT POTOO.

October 14: Pantiacolla Lodge

Only our second day at Pantiacolla and we have already settled into
a routine. We start with breakfast at 5 AM and then set off for a
long morning walk at 5:30 AM. We return to the lodge at little before
lunch (1 PM) and then after a siesta, we take another walk in the
afternoon.

This morning we chose the Capybara trail. We started off in a
part of the trail that is best characterized as bamboo dominated vareza.
The morning began nicely with several handsome skulkers: WHITE-BROWED ANTBIRD,
WARBLING ANTBIRD, WHITE-LINED ANTBIRD, and MANU ANTBIRD. A couple
times, we get brief but frustrating looks at a WHITE-BEARDED HERMIT.
With hermits, one often has such little time to note the key hermit field
marks such as size of tail, color of supercilium, malar stripe, and flight
pattern. We also hear PERUVIAN RECURVEBILL, but only Carolyn gets
a glimpse of the bird. After looks at GRAY ANTWREN, RED-THROATED
CARACARA, BUFF-THROATED WOODCREEPER, and WHITE-SHOULDERED TANAGER, the
Capybara trail takes us into drier, almost terre firme forest with little
bamboo. Here we see ROUND-TAILED MANAKIN, BARE-NECKED FRUITCROW,
RUDDY PIGEON ("whip your UN-cle") and BLACK-TAILED TROGON.
For many of us, the bird of the morning is a cooperative RUSTY-BELTED TAPACULO
that slowly circles us, calling all the while. Accustomed to Scytalopus
Tapaculos, we marvel at how different the Rusty-belted Tapaculo (of the
mono-typic genus Liosceles) appears. On the way back to the lodge, we also
catch looks at WHITE-LORED EUPHONIA, DUSKY-CAPPED GREENLET, and a MUSICIAN
WREN, that Alfred alerts us to.

Having thoroughly enjoyed our morning, in the afternoon we chose to
focus on the Tinamou Tail, a spur of the Capybara trail that parallels
the river. Despite the heat, we see WHITE-BROWED ANTBIRD again, SWALLOW-TAILED
KITES, BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAW, GRAY-FRONTED DOVE, and BLACK-THROATED
ANTBIRD.

After the bird list and dinner, most of us opt to head to bed by 9 PM;
tomorrow will be an early day. A midnight rain shower and breezes
ensure comfortable sleeping temperatures.

October 15: Pantiacolla Lodge

It is hard to have much of an appetite for breakfast at 4 :30 AM.
But today will be a early one as by 5:10 AM we are piling into the boat
and heading a few minutes upstream to the colpa, a clay lick that attracts
parrots and macaws. Fog rises off the river and low clouds block views
of the foothills as we motor upstream. On the river, we see BLACK
CARACARA, CAPPED HERON, and WHITE-NECKED HERON, all birds we missed on
our trip in. Arriving at the colpa, we are disappointed to see that
few birds are visiting it. Our boatman (motorista), a local resident,
says that he has noticed that parrot numbers tend to decline after rainy
nights and perhaps the clay is too wet for the parrots. But by loitering
around, we do see a number of psittacids "commuting" along the river, including:
BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAW, CHESTNUT-FRONTED MACAW, RED-AND-GREEN MACAW, WHITE-EYED
PARAKEET, DUSKY-HEADED PARAKEET, BLUE-HEADED PARROT, and MEALY PARROT.
In the riverside bushes we also see a beautiful RED-CAPPED CARDINAL.

We decide to head downstream a few minutes to visit a small dry stream
bed that, in the rainy season, flows in the Alto Madre de Dios. Here
Bob spots a DARK-BILLED CUCKOO that we all eventually see well. Then
we are distracted by a BLACK-EARED FAIRY with the white flashes in its
relatively long tail. Walking along the dry stream bed, we surprise
a perched GREATER YELLOW-HEADED VULTURE and later see RUDDY
GROUND-DOVE and PLAIN-CROWNED SPINETAIL. Returning to the boat, we
head downstream a few more minutes to a small marsh isolated from the main
river. As we walk through the wet sand and 6 to 8 inches of
water, we share the obligatory stories of South American quicksand.
Arriving at the marsh, we record: SPOTTED SANDPIPER, HOATZIN, STREAKED
FLYCATCHER, and a pair of SUNGREBE lazily swimming near the shore.
We also get brief looks at a LEMON-THROATED BARBET and see plenty more
macaws. On the return journey we see a CRIMSON-CRESTED WOODPECKER
and DRAB WATER-TYRANT. Arriving back at the lodge, most of us decide
to take a quick walk on the east end of the Monk Saki trail before lunch.
We are rewarded with a WHITE-CRESTED SPADEBILL and RED-CROWNED ANT-TANAGER.

After lunch, we settle on another walk that combines the Monk Saki trail
with the Aracari trail. Activity is low, but we lure in a BROAD-BILLED
MOTMOT ("waaa-waaa"). Most of the group opt to watch the sunset on
the riverbank and see a flock of SAND-COLORED NIGHTHAWK and a PECTORAL
SPARROW, but some of us chose to race to the showers to wash off the day's
accumulated sweat and grime.

October 16: Pantiacolla Lodge

Another early morning as today the plan is to hike the long Mirador
trail that climbs up into the Pantiacolla foothills past 1000 meters.
At 850 meters, the trail is said to pass through an isolated patch of cloud
forest at 850 meters, a good spot for the rare Black Tinamou. We start
the hike before dawn (5 AM) and hike hard for 45 minutes to get some mileage
under our belt. In the dim light, we get a glimpse of a group of
GREAT TINAMOUS, hear several LITTLE TINAMOUS and see a SPIX'S WOODCREEPER.
As dawn breaks, we stop and spend some time with a well-concealed BUFF-BREASTED
WREN that finally emerges into the open. As we continue climbing,
Bennett stops and alerts us to a strange but clear call: "hoo-ha-ha" that
he hazards may be a forest falcon. With playback we are rewarded
with views of a beautiful LINED FOREST-FALCON, one of the rarer forest-falcons
and a new bird for the lodge list. More climbing and views of GRAYISH
MOURNER and CARMIOL'S TANAGER.

By 9:30, we reach 650 meters and notice a severe fall off in bird activity.
Indeed, we had been warned that the Mirador trail seemed to have less activity
than other trails closer to the lodge. Democracy prevails and we
turn around to slowly work our way downhill, leaving that mysterious patch
of isolated cloud forest to be explored some future visit. We encounter
a small flock on our return journey that include a couple new tanagers
for the trip: OPAL-RUMPED TANAGER and OPAL-CROWNED TANAGER. We also
observe some evidence of logging and hunting (shotgun shells) and later
learn that the Mirador trail is sometimes used by hunters from a nearby
village that do not seem to have bought into the concept of the Manu Biosphere
Reserve. Indeed, lower numbers of some of larger birds near Pantiacolla
may possibly be evidence of hunting in the area.

The shady veranda of the dining hall and lunch greet us and we return
from what was a seven and a half mile morning hike. After lunch and
a siesta, we opt for the productive Capybara trail and Tinamou spur trail.
More interesting birds seem to be waiting for us: we see: GOELDI'S ANTBIRD,
BAMBOO ANTSHRIKE, SOLITARY CACIQUE, and GOULD'S JEWELFRONT. Dinner
is a busy affair. About a dozen language students have arrived, whereas
we had the place to ourselves before. After dinner, we prowls for
more owls but find more mammals than birds. We get great looks at
Giant Armadillo and Brazilian Porcupine.

October 17: Pantiacolla Lodge

After breakfast, we are off by 5:30 AM to the Capybara tail again.
This trail proved to be one of our favorites, with many of the most interesting
and "wanted" birds observed on this trail. Few Amazonian lodges have
such high quality varzea forest interspersed with mature bamboo.
The taller tierra firme forest was less productive as we did not encounter
the understory flocks that we expected. And, for the most part, we
did not see large flocks of tanagers. Most tanager flocks are quite
small and we hypotheise that they were family groups. Perhaps it
was a seasonal phenomenon?

New trip sightings continue to pop up, including: CHESTNUT CAPPED PUFFBIRD,
GRAY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER, BRAN-COLORED FLYCATCHER, and COLBALT-WINGED PARAKEET.
Moving into the dry terre firme forest on the Capybara trail, we find
RUFOUS-BELLIED EUPHONIA, BLACK-SPOTTED BARE-EYE at an army ant swarm, BLACK-FACED
DACNIS and RUFOUS MOTMOT. We marvel at how distant the motmot sounds
(it seems to be at least 200 meters off), but how close it actually is
(20 meters only!).

The afternoon is quite hot, making it difficult to nap. Given
the heat, we decide to take another trip along the river. About 10
minutes upstream we find a small inlet and water north along a sandy stream
bank that flows into the river. We are happy to see birds in the
stifling heat, including: GRAYISH SALTATOR, DOUBLE-COLLARED SEEDEATER,
AMAZONIAN OROPENDOLA, BUFF-RUMPED WARBLER, and BLUE-HEADED PARROT.
Some ways upstream, we flush a group of 15 BLUE-AND-YELLOW MACAWS. They
circle us and settle for a time in a nearby tree. In the late afternoon
light, their colors are almost magical. We hear a LAWRENCE'S THRUSH,
the accomplished rainforest mimic, in the riverside vegetation and listen
as it cycles through a series of common Amazonian birds. This individual
seemed to prefer the song of the Goedi's Antbird, seeming to use it as
a base for every burst of song. Losing light, we head back to the
boat, but stop for a welcome sighting of a VIOLACEOUS JAY, first spotted
by our sharp-eyed boatman Leo.

After a nice dinner of spicy noodle soup and a vegetarian potato side
dish, some of us look for owls again, but the mammalian diversity of last
night is not repeated.

October 18: Pantiacolla Lodge

During the night, we received quite a bit of rain, but we awoke to clear
blue skies and lower temperatures. At breakfast, we remarked how
lucky we had been with the weather: no birding time lost to rain, but enough
rain at night to keep the temperatures down and the forest from being too
dry and lifeless. Again we chose the Capybara trail. As mentioned
earlier, each day on this trail seemed to bring new delights. In
fact, I personally saw more "lifers" at Pantiacolla on our last day there
(today, the 18th) than on any one of the previous six days-- a tribute
to the tremendous diversity in the varzea forest.

We started the day with nice views of a WHITE-EYED TODY-TYRANT.
Manu has the sub-species H. zosterops griseipectus that is a good candidate
for a splitting, in which case Ridgely and Tudor have suggested the name
White-bellied Tody-Tyrant. The tody-tyrant was soon followed
by a cooperative STRIATED ANTBIRD. We then encounter a rather large
forging flock that included: YELLOW-CRESTED TANAGER, SLATE-COLORED GROSBEAK,
and GREEN-AND-GOLD TANAGER. As the flock was almost directly overhead,
many of us used the trick of laying flat on our backs and looking straight
up into the canopy. Much less neck pain! We continued down
the path and played hide-and-seek with a BLACK-FACED ANTTHRUSH. After
all of us had gotten only somewhat satisfactory looks at the bird
and (grudgingly) were ready to leave, the bird suddenly became unwary and
proceeded to cross the path in front of us and forage in the trail side
vegetation.

Further along the Capybara trial, we found another nice flock that included
CHESTNUT-CROWNED FOLIAGE-GLEANER and WHITE-WINGED SHRIKE TANAGER.
We then had success in calling in COLLARED TROGON that perched very close
and gave us amazing views. Then it was a close encounter with a WEDGE-BILLED
WOODCREEPER (with views of the upturned bill) that grabbed our attention.
On the hike back, we were lucky to come across a JOHANNE'S TODY-TYRANT
with an olive back with yellow wing edging, grayish head, yellow belly,
and white eye. Just before the lodge, we ran into a final flock of
tanagers, but the majority of the group stopped for only quick looks before
heading into lunch.

For an afternoon walk, we strolled the Monk Saki trail and then took
a connecting path to link up again with the Capybara trail. We see
an understory flock, but no species that grab our attention. Further
along, Bennett catches a short call and lures out a RINGED ANTPIPIT.
After an unsuccessful hunt for the Peruvian Recurvebill in the fading light,
we head to the lodge for showers and a final meal and toast Pantiacolla
with Chilean vino tinto. Just as dinner ends, the rain starts up
and continues, heavy at times, most of the night.

October 19: Pantiacolla Lodge to Cusco

This was basically a travel day as we went by boat up the Madre de Dios
River and over the Andes to Cusco. The river was very high and rather
fast due to the rains of the night before. On the river we did see a few
birds new for the trip, including: GREATER YELLOWLEGS, TROUPIAL (new for
the lodge list!), BLACK-CROWNED TITYRA, STRIATED HERON, PIED LAPWING on
the sandy riverbank, CHESTNUT-EARED ARACARI, and SUNBITTERN. We also
4 or 5 FASCIATED TIGER-HERONS, this usually shy species was actively feeding
on the fast-flowing, turbulent river edge.

Upon arrival at Cusco, we happily settled into the Hotel Prisma.
Some of us went out for a leisurely dinner, while others were content to
call home (having been away from a telephone for 10 days or so) and get
to sleep early.

October 20: Sacsayhuman ruins above Cusco

Today was our last day and we spent it in the Polylepis scrub and farmlands
above the Sacsayhuman ruins above Cusco. Bob and Bobbie had a mid-day
flight and our plan was to find the endemic Chestnut-breasted Mountain-Finch.
Our van met us at the hotel at 7 AM and climbing outside of Cusco, we found
a patch of Polylepis in a roadside ravine at about 3550 meters. Among
others, we recorded TUFTED TIT-TYRANT, MOURNING SIERRA-FINCH, PLUMBEOUS
SIERRA-FINCH, PERUVIAN SIERRA-FINCH, BLACK-THROATED FLOWERPIERCER, and
a CINEREOUS CONEBILL that initially gave us a little bit of trouble.
We had glimpses of what we believe was a TAWNY TIT-SPINETAIL foraging in
the Polylepis. Finally, after moving downhill, in some farm
fields near Sacsayhuman ruins we found the endemic CHESTNUT-BREASTED MOUNTAIN-FINCH.
We gave a chase and finally were rewarded with prolonged views of this
handsome finch.

Soon it was time for Bob and Bobbie to head for the airport. Four
of the group were going to stay on for a side trip to Machu Picchu.
But that is another story...